


Icarus

by WriterOfFates



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Batfamily Feels, Gen, Greek Mythology - Freeform, deaged, icarus - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-06
Updated: 2014-11-06
Packaged: 2018-02-24 09:15:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2576147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WriterOfFates/pseuds/WriterOfFates
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dick has some problems with the classic Greek tale.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Icarus

**Author's Note:**

> This is set in an AU that is pre Jason’s death and in which Dick has been deaged to about seven by magical means which are not known to be permanent or temporary yet. Dick’s memories are that of his seven year old self and his presence at the manor is explained to him as Bruce being a relative to his parents and watching him as they go on honeymoon type trip together. They do not inform Dick about his past, however, at some point Dick had found out about Batman and Robin. This universe may be expanded at some point.  
> A thanks to RobinNightngale for the beta.

Jason sat in one of the manors giant arm chairs before the crackling fire in the library, immersed in the book he was reading, as the doors to the massive room creaked open quietly. Jay barely looked up, assuming that Alfred had entered to do some cleaning, and continued reading away until he felt a small body throw itself over his legs.

“Jaaaaaaaaaaaaay!”

Jason lifted his book up to raise an eyebrow at the boy on his lap. “What, Dick?”

“Whatcha reading? Huh huh, what is it?” Dick reached for the book and Jay held it up out of his grasp.

“Greek myths.”

“Why?”

“Why not?”

Dick frowned a bit, “So it’s… not ever for school work or something?”

“Nope. It’s for fun.”

“Weird.”

“What!? It is not weird! Reading opens all the doors in the world for you! It teaches you all the greatest lessons you could ever need in life! Reading is absolutely the best thing you could do with your time!”

“Even better than being Robin?”

“God yes!”

Dick looked skeptical at that. “I think knowing how to do a quadruple sommersault is a more important thing to know and I won’t learn that from a book.”

Jason rolled his eyes. “There’s more to life than flipping around in the air.”

“There is not!”

“Won’t matter if you can’t even read.”

“I can read!” Dick pinched Jay’s leg.

“Yowch!”

“My momma says I’m the bestest reader!”

“Yeah sure.”

“She does!”

“Hey, hey, I’m sorry, I’m sure you’re a great reader.” Jason glanced at the page number and set the book aside, rearranging Dick on his lap so the younger boy was cuddled against the 14 year old’s chest. Dick continued to pout and Jay rolled his eyes before stroking Dick’s hair. “I don’t know any other seven year old who can read as well as you.”

“I can read as good as an eight year old!”

Jay held back the impulse to correct the child’s grammar and just nodded, “Maybe even as good as a nine year old.”

“Well… I wouldn’t say that….”

Jay laughed and hugged Dick. “Soon.” Dick beamed up at him and Jay felt his heart squeeze at how adorable his now younger brother was. “Hey, pipsqueak, want me to read to you?”

“YEAH!” Dick shouted and Jay winced. It was almost loud enough for him to take back the previous thought, but he just sighed and picked up the book he had been reading.

“You’re gonna read me Greek stuff?”

“It’s not like it’s written in Greek. And these stories are absolute classics. You gotta know them.”

“Fiiiiiiiine.” Dick squirmed to get more comfortable as Jay opened the book up, flipping back a few pages to the start of the current myth he was reading.

“This is the story of Daedalus and Icarus.”

“Like the toy store? Ick-R-Us?” Dick chuckled at his own joke and Jay flicked him.

“No. Now shush and just listen.” Jason started to read the tale dramatically and soon Dick was entranced by the story of the man who crafted wings of wax and feathers for himself and his son. “He told his son to fly neither too low or too high, warning him of complacency and hubris—”

“I don’t know those words, Jaybird.”

“To be complacent is too be smugful of your achievements, especially when you aren’t achieving anything really worth being smug about.”

“But they’re flying! That’s a huge achievement!”

“Well if you let me keep reading, you’d find out that it’s a warning about flying too low since the fog on the sea would clog the wings and make Icarus fall.”

“Oh. But the other word. Hue… Hue…”

“Hubris. Excessive pride.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“Nope. In Ancient Greece, hubris was basically a crime against the gods, because if you were showing hubris it meant you were probably doing something that was reserved for the gods or you were being overly boastful, saying things like you could beat this god or that god at something.”

“Ah…”

Jay could tell Dick didn’t quite understand but he just smiled. “It’ll make more sense as I keep reading, okay?” Dick nodded and Jay kept telling the story, of how Icarus began to fly higher and higher, not noticing how the wax melted away. Dick frowned more and more and his little hand gripped Jay’s sleeve. Finally, Jay closed the book with a snap. “The end.”

“That’s it?”

“What do you mean?”

“That’s all there is to it? He fell and drowned?! That’s a terrible story!”

Jay frowned, “It’s a lesson.”

“He just wanted to fly and be free but he had to drown?! Why?!”

“Because he flew too close to the sun and didn’t heed the warnings.”

“No! I don’t like that!”

Jay sighed, “I’m sorry, Dick, I should have chosen a different story.”

“I want to be Icarus!”

“Wait what?”

“I want to fly through the sky and be free but I won’t fall! I will keep flying and flying and I won’t ever fall down! I don’t care about hubby-iris!”

“Hubris.”

Dick shot him a glare and lept from Jay’s lap to point his finger at Jay. “You’ll see. I will fly. And no one can ground me!” Dick raced out of the library and Jay stared after him.

“You’re right, Dickie-bird. No one ever can keep you from flying…” Jay sighed and rubbed at his forehead before heading off to warn Alfred that Dick might be taking to the chandeliers even more often now.


End file.
